I've been thinking about getting my first tattoo. It would be on my leg and I'm thinking about a copy of one of Rockwell Kent's Moby Dick (my favorite book) illustrations.
What do you think? Also, share your tattoos and if you regret them. Was it painful?
>>17269967
why permanently disfigure your skin just to have a picture on it?
>>17269967
That's going to look shit as a tattoo.
>>17269973
why not
>>17269978
This one is cool too.
>>17269991
And it'll look like shit as a tattoo too. There are too many solid black areas in both of them, it's just going to look a mess. For a tattoo, if you're want a piece of art, look for something that's got simple, clean lines without large areas that are a solid colour. These pieces look like they've been doodled with a ballpoint pen and that's fine - but not as a tattoo
![Lot-101-406x563[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/5ri8iv3.jpg "Lot-101-406x563[1].jpg")
>>17270000
>>17269991
Nice quads, me.
Anyway, for example, my friend got this, and it looks great.
>>17270000
This is the other famous rockwell kent. I can see it working as a simple piece?
>>17270007
That's much better than the other two, but it's a bit... rectangular. I wouldn't want something like that on my body (though I would love a print of it in a simple frame in my living room), but if you like it and a tattoo artist can do it, then get it if you want.
>>17269967
Thats...a lot of black. Even the other things you've posted are a lot of solid black and a lot of straight, crisp lines. It might look awesome when you get it done, it might look awesome for a year or two, but it won't age well. Keep in mind that any tattoo is going to go a little fuzzy over the years. If you have a lot of shading or color, that natural fuzziness won't be terribly noticeable. If you have a lot of crisp lines, right angles, and areas of deep, solid black the natural fading and slight spreading will look sloppy. There aren't a lot of artists who can do solid black that will stick long-term and even the best work might need touch ups on a regular basis if you have extensive blackwork. A very good artist might punch white into the negative space, but thats going to mean a lot more time and money. Also, for a piece like that to really look right you're talking about a pretty big tattoo, at least ten or twelve inches from top to bottom. As a first tattoo, thats a lot of work to commit to if it turns out you really don't like the pain. Solid black is going to require a lot of passes over the same spot, so its going to get rough at times, and with that size of a tattoo its going to be hard to place it entirely in easy areas.
My advice would be to find something simple and small for a first tattoo to make sure this is something you really want to invest the time and money into. I didn't get my first really big piece until I had already sat for two smaller ones to be sure that 16 hours over four session was something I would be able to tolerate and I still had a hard time with the collar bone.
>>17270034
I see two big problems with that piece. The straight lines for shading are going to look like crap. They're too close, too precise, and theres no way they'll stay straight and well defined as his skin ages. Second, the ripples in the water are going to come out looking sloppy.
>>17270106
The whole art style is inappropriate for a tattoo, I agree, but OP seems to be set on getting one of them.
>>17270115
I hope he runs into a good artist who talks him out of it and helps him figure out something that will work better.
